Though the launch was successful, a problem with three of the capsule’s four thruster pods delayed the opening of its solar arrays. SpaceX engineers had to wait until the capsule was over its Australia-based ground station to “command inhibit override” and reactivate enough of the thruster pods to deploy the arrays. While only one of the thruster pods was reactivated, it was enough to successfully deploy the arrays.

SpaceX spent hours trying to reactivate the two thruster pods that were still malfunctioning. At around 3 pm EST Space X founder Elon Musk tweeted that the thruster pods were back online and that the capsule is no longer drifting:

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Elon Musk
@elonmusk

Pods 1 and 4 now online and thrusters engaged. Dragon transitioned from free drift to active control. Yes!!

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11 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

The problems caused the capsule to miss one of its scheduled burns that would take it toward its scheduled docking with the ISS. As a result, the docking could be delayed.

SpaceX and NASA have scheduled a teleconference for 3 pm EST. More details about the Dragon capsule and its docking schedule should be revealed during the call.

The Dragon capsule is carrying 1,200 pounds of cargo and science equipment that will be delivered to the ISS’s crew of six international astronauts. The capsule is scheduled to return with refuse and used equipment on March 25. SpaceX successfully completed its first resupply mission to the ISS back in October 2012 when it delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the satellite.

The launch of the capsule can be seen in the video below, which NASA released earlier today:

This SpaceX mission is NASA’s first privatized cargo and resupply mission under its Commercial Resupply Services contract. SpaceX is contracted to fly 12 more cargo missions to the International Space Station from now until 2016.

“Just over one year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we have returned space station cargo resupply missions to U.S. soil and are bringing the jobs associated with this work back to America,” said Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator. “The SpaceX launch tonight marks the official start of commercial resupply missions by American companies operating out of U.S. spaceports like the one right here in Florida.”

The Dragon is scheduled to be grappled by the ISS on Wednesday at 7:22 am. ISS crew members Sunita Williams of NASA and Aki Hoshide of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will use the station’s robotic arm to dock the Dragon, which will spend 18 days docked to the station.

The Dragon capsule carries 882 pounds of supplies, including 390 pounds of material for scientific research. When it returns to earth, splashing into the Pacific Ocean, it will be holding 1,673 pounds of used crew supplies, scientific research, and vehicle hardware.

The launch of the SpaceX CRS-1, or “Dragon”, spacecraft will take place on Sunday, October 7th at 8:35 pm EDT. If that launch window is not met, there are backup launch windows available on October 8th and October 9th.

On Sunday, SpaceX conducted a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry Dragon into space. Meanwhile, NASA is preparing a series of tests for Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket, which will carry the Cygnus cargo spacecraft into orbit during a demonstration mission “in the coming months.” Orbital Sciences is also part of NASA’s CRS contract, and will also be resupplying the ISS in the future.

This launch is one of 12 that have been contracted by NASA to resupply the ISS. NASA states that the Dragon will be filled with around 1,000 pounds of supplies, including materials to support the investigations planned for the ISS crew. The vehicle will also return around 734 pounds of scientific materials and an estimated 504 pounds of ISS hardware.

A Dragon spacecraft has already visited the ISS once, during a successful test mission in May of this year. The photo above is from the launch of that mission.

(Photo courtesy SpaceX)

Our story begins with a simple Facebook message. Shane Bennett, Samsung super fan, sent a private message to Samsung’s PR team on their Facebook page. He was asking for a free Galaxy S III and drew an amazing dragon picture as payment. Obviously, Samsung replied with a no, but sent an equally amazing picture of a kangaroo riding a unicycle for his troubles.

Bennett posted the above conversation on Reddit and it quickly shot to the front page. Needless to say, the Reddit thread gained Samsung a lot of new fans that day. It was unintentional viral marketing at its best. Samsung appreciated the boost in fans and interest and decided to reward Bennett in the best way possible.

TechCrunch caught up with Bennett after he received this one of a kind Galaxy S III. It features the dragon that he drew etched onto the back of the case. It’s also on the front with a matching background that completes the drawing. Here’s the custom Galaxy S III in all its glory.

Now, don’t go rushing out drawing crude pictures of mythical beasts in hopes of getting a free phone. It rarely works out that way. Bennett just happened to be in the right place at the right time. That being said, it does once again prove the power of the Internet in marketing. Fans are a company’s greatest asset and they would be wise to leverage that power across Reddit, Facebook, Twitter and others.

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SpaceX
@SpaceX

SpaceX Selected by @NASA to Return Americans to Space! http://t.co/1yvIHDqO

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1 hour ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

The company became the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station in May, and now NASA has chosen SpaceX (via a $440 million contract) to complete final modifications to prepare its Dragon spacecraft for human transport.

“This is a decisive milestone in human spaceflight and sets an exciting course for the next phase of American space exploration,” said Musk. “SpaceX, along with our partners at NASA, will continue to push the boundaries of space technology to develop the safest, most advanced crew vehicle ever flown.”

Modifications that SpaceX will make to Dragon, include making room for 7 astronauts, a “breakthrough” propulsive landing system for gental ground touchdowns on legs, refinements/testing of “essential aspects” of the craft’s design (such as life support systems and an advanced cockpit design), and what the company calls “the most technically advanced launch escape system ever developed”. That system would include “powered abort possibilities from launch pad to orbit.”

The company expects its first manned flight to happen in 2015.

NASA has also reached agreements with Sierra Nevada and Boeing as part of its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, which has the goal of making commercial human spaceflight available. The deal with Sierra Nevada is for $212.5 million, and the Boeing deal is worth $460 million.

“This is another important milestone in our efforts to push the boundaries of space technology,” said SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk. “With the Merlin 1D powering the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, SpaceX will be capable of carrying a full range of payloads to orbit.” The Merlin 1D will indeed knock out 2 birds with 1 stone. It will offer the pure power that the Falcon Heavy needs to do its missions, but it will also offer performance improvements to the Falcon 9.

With nine Merlins on the first stage, the Falcon 9 rocket will produce nearly 1.5 million pounds of thrust in a vacuum. An enhanced design makes the Merlin 1D the most efficient booster engine ever built, with a vacuum thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 150, while still maintaining the structural and thermal safety margins needed to carry astronauts. All of this is important going forward because SpaceX really wants the NASA contract to put astronauts on the ISS and maybe even the moon one day.

The new design of the Merlin also will fulfill an extensive manifest of launches and the new engine is designed for improved manufacturability by using higher efficiency processes. It also has increased robotic construction and reduced parts count. Look for SpaceX to continue to push forward and try to cut costs through improved technology in only the way that a private company can. This is why it is important for the private sector to get involved in things that are extremely expensive like the space program.

SpaceX19 hours ago

Firing of the SpaceX Merlin 1D engine! 
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photo and video courtesy of SpaceX

Last week SpaceX became the first private company to connect to the ISS in a feat that could change spaceflight forever. This is the final testing point for the Dragon and will mean that going forward NASA can further trust SpaceX with experiments and hopefully will be putting people up there soon because the Dragon is capable of moving both cargo and people. In fact, Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder, expects to have astronauts riding his Dragons in three or four years.

The targeted splashdown zone is 560 miles southwest of Los Angeles and it will parachute down like the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft did way back in the 60′s and 70′s.

The next Dragon supply mission will be in September and a Falcon 9 rocket is already at Cape Canaveral awaiting launch. This will be part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract through NASA. The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs in total. Mix that in with the news yesterday that SpaceX signed a deal to launch satellites into space, and the future looks very bright for them.

photo courtesy of SpaceX

One if the astronauts on the ISS is named André Kuipers. Kuipers is a Dutch astronaut flying for the ESA. He is currently stationed as the ISS and snapping a ton of hi-res photos that he puts on his blog. Well he just released an album that has to dea with the Dragon capsule docking and being entered by the crew of the ISS. Kuipers had this to say: “The Dragon mission is the operational highlight of my mission. But it is also a milestone for international spaceflight.”

Check out some of the amazing photos:

Early this morning, Dragon’s thrusters fired, bringing the vehicle 2.4 kilometers below the International Space Station. The vehicle completed two key tests at that distance. Dragon demonstrated its Relative GPS and established a communications link with the International Space Station using CUCU. Astronauts commanded on Dragon’s strobe light to confirm the link worked. These are the last few tests before the Dragon attempts to dock with the ISS. Here is the video of the Dragon below the ISS:

There are 2 tasks left in the journey of the Dragon space capsule:

FRIDAY MORNING

– Final Approach, Dragon Grapple

Around 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern NASA will decide if Dragon is GO to move into the approach ellipsoid 1.4 kilometers around the space station. If Dragon is GO, after approximately one hour Dragon will move to a location 250 meters directly below the station. Dragon will then perform a series of maneuvers to show systems are operating as expected. If NASA is satisfied with the results of these many tests, Dragon will be allowed to perform the final approach to the space station.

Sometime around 6:00 AM Pacific/9:00 AM Eastern, astronauts on the space station will grapple Dragon with the space station’s robotic arm and the spacecraft will attach to the station.

SATURDAY MORNING

– Hatch Opening

If all goes well, at approximately 2:00 AM Pacific/5:00 AM Eastern, the crew will start procedures to open Dragon’s hatch. It will take around 2 hours to complete all operations leading to the hatch opening. Once the hatch is opened, astronauts will enter Dragon for the first time in space.

If the mission of docking with the ISS is successful, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract through NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

Here is a picture of the ISS taken by a thermal camera on the Dragon courtesy of SpaceX:

Here is a photo from the ISS of the Dragon on approach courtesy of NASA:

If the mission is successful, then SpaceX will begin to fulfill its contract through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The resupply contract for the International Space Station has it making 12 runs, and since it is reusable, they will have the ability to ferry items back and forth, not just trash but experiments.

Everyone seems to be excited about the launch except for CEO Elon Musk who told the NewYorkTimes, “I think there’s a significant chance that the mission does not succeed.”

The launch is scheduled for 4:15am tomorrow morning from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Live webcam feed can be seen here.